The suffix -onym in English and other languages means "word name" and words ending in -onym refer to a specified kind of name or word most of which are classical compounds. For example an acronym is a word formed from the initial letter or letters of each of the successive parts or major parts of a compound term (as radar). The use of -onym words provides a means of classifying often to a fine degree of resolution sets of nouns with common attributes.

In some words the -onym form has been modified by replacing (or dropping) the "o". In the examples ananym and metanym the correct forms (anonym and metonym) were pre-occupied by other meanings. Other late 20th century examples such as hypernym and characternym are typically incorrectly formed neologisms for which there are more traditional words formed in -onym (hyperonym and charactonym).

The English suffix -onym is from the Ancient Greek suffix - (-nymon) neuter of - (-nymos) having a specified kind of name from the Greek (noma) Aeolic Greek (nyma) "name". The form -nymos is that taken by noma when it is the end component of a bahuvrihi compound but in English its use is extended to tatpurusa compounds.

The suffix is found in many modern languages with various spellings. Examples are: Dutch synoniem German Synonym Portuguese sinnimo Russian (sinonim) Finnish synonyymi Indonesian sinonim.

According to a 1988 study1 of words ending in -onym there are four discernible classes of -onym words: (1) historic classic or for want of better terms naturally occurring or common words; (2) scientific terminology particularly occurring in linguistics onomastics etc.; (3) language games; and (4) nonce words. Older terms are known to gain new sometimes contradictory meanings (e.g. eponym and cryptonym). In many cases two or more words describe the same phenomenon but no precedence is discernable (e.g. necronym and penthonym). New words are sometimes created unnecessarily the meaning of which duplicate existing terms. Occasionally new words are formed with little regard to historical principles. Contents 1 Words that end in -onym 2 Notes 3 References 4 Further reading 5 External links Words that end in -onym Main articles: Onomastics and Nomenclature This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. 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(November 2009) acronym: considered to be a "word" in its original sense formed from the initials of one or more words that is pronounceable like a normal word such as NATO sometimes in distinction to initialism; reflecting a historical development from its component word initials allonym: an author's name of another person's often a well-known person's name; an alternative term for a pseudonym anacronym: an acronym that is so well established that its origin as an abbreviation is no longer widely known (a portmanteau of anachronism + acronym) for example scuba and laser; historically an acronym whose component initials are in danger of no longer being recognized anonym: something created anonymously or its creator; an unknown author; this term now generally replaced by pseudonym anepronym: a portmanteau of anacronym and eponym; an original eponym of a trademark term that becomes so well established that it is used to define other objects that share its own definition (e.g. aspirin) anthroponym: a name of a human being; as reflected in surnames or proper names of people antonym: a word with the exact opposite meaning of another word; an antithesis: often shown in opposite word pairs such as "high" and "low" (compare with "synonym") apronym; a word which as an acronym or backronym has a meaning related to the meaning of the words constituting the acronym or backronym; such as PLATO for "Programmed Logic for Automated Teaching" alluding to Plato the philosopher and teacher aptronym: a name appropriate to its owner's occupation or physical properties such as "Goldsmith" or "Longman" (compare with "charactonym")coined by Franklin P. Adams astronym: a name of a star (or more loosely of a constellation or other heavenly body) autonym: Botanical nomenclature for an automatically created name backronym: an ordinary word understood as an (usually amusing or ironic) acronym (a portmanteau of back + acronym) such as Fiat understood as "Fix It Again Tomorrow" basionym: the first name published for a biological taxon (species genus etc.) which remains the defining name for the taxon even when the taxon has been transferred to a new name capitonym: a word that changes its meaning (and sometimes pronunciation) when it is capitalized such as March and march or Polish and polish. charactonym: a name of a fictional character reflected in his personality traits such as Shakespeare's Pistol or Bottom (compare with "aptronym") chrematonym: a name of a politico-economic or commercial or cultural institution or thing; a catch-all category consonym: a word that has the same consonants as another word in the same order ignoring all vowels. An aconsonym is the same concept in an opposite order : language game 1979 by Gary Pisher; specifically a: originally such a word constructed phonetically (as exam with consonant pattern /gzm/ eczema and gizmo). Revised rules by Philip M. Cohen always consider /w/ and /y/ consonants. b: such a word constructed alphabetically (as thence with consonant pattern "thnc" ethnic) sometimes distinguished as strict consonym where "y" is always a consonant and permissive consonym where "y" is always a vowel. contronym or antagonym or autoantonym: a word that may have opposite meanings in different contexts such as cleave meaning "stick together" or "split apart" cryptonym: a code name; a word or name used clandestinely to refer to another name or word demonym: a name derived from a place name for residents of that place (e.g. Utahn from Utah or Sioux Cityan from Sioux City)coined by George H. Scheetz according to Paul Dickson in What Do You Call a Person From... A Dictionary of Resident Names.2 The term first appeared in print in 1988 in Names' Names: A Descriptive and Prescriptive Onymicon by George H. Scheetz.3 See also taxonym. endonym A self-assigned name by locals of a place. Also known as an autonym (not to be confused with the autonym in botany). eponym: a botanical zoological artwork or place name that derives from a real or legendary person; a name for a real or hypothetical person from whom a botanical geographical artwork or zoological name is derived; a person after whom a medical condition is named or the condition so named. A type of taxonym. ergonym: sometimes used for the name of an institution or commercial firm ethnonym: a name of an ethnic group. A type of taxonym. exonym: a name used by one group of people for another group but who call themselves by a different name such as "Germans" for "Deutsche"; a place name used by one group that differs from the name used by the people who live there such as "Cologne" for "Kln" geonym: a name of a geographic feature glossonym or glottonym: a name of a language heteronym: a word that is spelled in the same way as another but that has a different sound and meaning for example "bow" as in "bow of a ship" or "bow and arrow" (compare "homonym") hodonym: a name of a street or road holonym: a word for the whole of which other words are part in the way house contains roof door and window; or car contains steering-wheel and engine (compare "meronym") homonym: 1: a: a word pronounced like another but differing in meaning or derivation or spellingalso known as homophone (to too two). b: a word spelled like another but differing in derivation or meaning or pronunciationalso known as homograph or heteronym (lead to conduct and lead the metal). Compare autantonym contronym heteronym and stressonym. c: a word spelled and pronounced like another but differing in meaning (pool of water and pool the game). 2: a namesake. 3: Biol. a taxonomic designation rejected because the identical term has been used to designate another group of the same rank. Compare synonym. hydronym: a name of river lake or other body of water hypernym: sometimes spelled hyperonym a generic word that stands for a class or group of equally-ranked items such as "tree" for "beech" or "elm" or "house" for "chalet" or "bungalow." A hypernym is said to be "superordinate" to a hyponym. hypocoronym or hypocoristic: a colloquial usually unofficial name of an entity; a pet-name or "nickname" hyponym: an item that belongs to and is equally-ranked in a generic class or group for example "lily" or "violet" in the class of "flowers"; or "limousine" or "hatchback" in the class of "automobiles." A hyponym is said to be "subordinate" to a hyperonym. isonym: 1: a word having the same root or stem as anotheralso known as paronym. Compare exonym heteronym paronym and synonym. 2: one person's surname which is the same as another person's surname.45 meronym: a word that names a part that belongs to and is therefore subordinate to a larger entity; a part-whole relationship such as "door" or "window" in "house" or "engine" or "steering-wheel" in "car" (compare "holonym") metonym: a word that substitutes a part for the whole it is associated with for example "crown" for "monarch"; metonymy is the figure of speech incorporating a metonym matronym or matronymic: a name of a human being making reference to that person's mother (contrast "patronym") mononym: a word indicating the "single name" as generally applied to people e.g. Madonna or Plato. microtoponym: a word indicating an uninhabited place cf. toponym. necronym: a reference to or name of a person who has died. numeronym: is a number-based word. odonym: a name of a street or road. oikonym or (Latinized) oeconym: a name of a house or other building oronym: (1) a name of a hill mountain or mountain-range; (2) a neologism for homophonic words or phrases. paronym: a word that is related to another word and derives from the same root; a cognate word such as dubious and doubtful patronym or patronymic; a name adopted from the father's or ancestor's name for example "Johnson" from "John" "MacDonald" from "Donald" "O'Brien" from "Brien" or "Ivanovich" from "Ivan" phytonym: a name of a plant pseudonym: a false and fictitious name especially one adopted by an author; a pen name retronym: a compound or modified noun that replaces an original simple noun for example "analog watch" now means what "watch" used to mean before the invention of the digital watch; and motorcycles became "solo motorcycles" when others were built with sidecars synonym: a word equivalent in meaning or nearly so to another word; a word that may be substituted for another word that has the same or a similar meaning such as near and close (compare "antonym") tautonym: a binomial or scientific name in the taxonomy of living things in which the generic and specific names are the same such as Gorilla gorilla; a scientific name in which the specific name is repeated such as Homo sapiens sapiens as distinct from Homo sapiens neanderthalensis; a noun component that is repeated such as aye-aye or tom-tom; a personal name where both forename and surname are identical such as Francis Francis taxonym: a name used for classification or identification purposes usually signifying a relationship to something. Taxonyms include binomens names of clades or taxons demonyms ethnonyms and eponyms. Examples include canine hominid and Dryad. tecnonym: a teknonym q.v.6 teknonym (or tecnonym): 1: Ethnol. a parent's name which was derived from a child's name (practiced among some indigenous peoples) (from teknonymy). Compare paedonym.67 2: a child's name when used to identify a person as the parent of that child rather than by that person's personal name ("Look there's Tim's father").8 textonym: a word that is generated by a single sequence of numerals keyed in to a mobile telephone; for example 726 produces pam ram sam and ran. Also called homonumeric words.9 theonym: a name of a god. The names societies give their gods at times is useful in understanding the origin of their language as well as their view of a particular deity. Analysis of theonyms has been useful in understanding the connections of Indo-European languages and possibly their religions in particular. In Abrahamic faiths the origin and meaning of the Tetragrammaton is sometimes deemed to have important historical or even metaphysical meaning. theronym: a name especially a product name that has been derived from the name of an animal.10 toponym: a place or geographical name; the name of an area of the body as distinguished from the name of an organ troponym: a verb convoying a meaning which is a particular case of the meaning of another verb. For example to duel is a troponym of to fight; to write is a troponym of to communicate; etc. zoonym: a name of an animal Notes Scheetz Names' Names p. 1 What Do You Call a Person From... A Dictionary of Resident Names by Paul Dickson (Facts on File February 1990). ISBN 978-0-8160-1983-0 Names' Names: A Descriptive and Prescriptive Onymicon by George H. Scheetz (Sioux City: Schtz Verlag 1988) No ISBN Crow James F. and Arthur P. Mange. "Measurement of Inbreeding from the Frequency of Persons of the Same Surname." Eugenics Quarterly 12 (1965): 199-203. Lasker Gabriel W. Surnames and Genetic Structure. Cambridge: Cambrdige University Press 1985. a b Funk & Wagnalls New Standard Dictionary of the English Language. New York: Funk & Wagnalls Company 1943. The Oxford English Dictionary. Oxford: The Oxford University Press 1933. The World Book Dictionary. Chicago: World Book-Childcraft International Inc. (A Thorndike-Barnhart Dictionary) 1982. Txting: The Gr8 Db8 by David Crystal (Oxford: Oxford University Press 2008 pp. 68 187). ISBN 978-0-19-954490-5 The Online Dictionary of Language Terminology - Theronym. Accessed 2009-06-08. Archived 2009-06-09. References Scheetz George H. "Onomasticon I." Word Ways 10 (August 1977): 165-67. Enlarged as "An Onomastic Onomasticon." . "An Onomastic Onomasticon." ANS Bulletin No. 65 (28 October 1981) pp. 47. Revised and enlarged as Names' Names: A Descriptive and Prescriptive Onymicon. . Names' Names: A Descriptive and Prescriptive Onymicon. (Whats In a Name Chapbook Series; 2.) Sioux City Ia.: Schtz Verlag August 1988. The first separately published comprehensive historical overview of words ending in -onym including an annotated list of 137 such words. Further reading Brown A. F. (1963). Normal and Reverse English Word List. 1-8. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania.  Herbst Richard C. (1979). Herbst's Backword Dictionary for Puzzled People. New York: Alamo Publishing Company.  Lehnert Martin (1971). Reverse Dictionary of Present-Day English. Leipzig: Verlag Enzyklopdie.  Laurence Urdang ed (1981). -Ologies & -Isms: A Thematic Dictionary (2nd ed.). Detroit: Gale Research Company.  External links Words That End In nym : Words That End With nym Nym Words Onyms v d eLexicography Types of reference works Dictionary  Glossary  Lexicon  Thesaurus Types of dictionaries Bilingual  Biographical  Conceptual  Defining  Electronic  Encyclopedic  Language for specific purposes dictionary  Machine-readable  Maximizing  Medical  Minimizing  Monolingual learner's  Multi-field  Phonetic  Picture  Reverse  Rhyming  Rime  Single-field  Specialized  Sub-field  Visual Lexicographic projects Lexigraf  WordNet Other List of lexicographers  List of online dictionaries v d eLexicology Major terms Lexicon  Idiolect  Word  Lexis  Lexical unit Elements Morpheme  Grapheme  Glyphs  Phoneme  Sememe  Seme  Lexeme  Lemma  Meronymy  Chereme Semantic relations Holonymy  Hyponymy  Troponymy  Idiom  Synonym  Antonymy  Lexical semantics  Semantic net Fonctions Function word  Headword Fields Morphology  Controlled vocabulary  English lexicology and lexicography  Lexicographic error  Lexicographic information cost  Linguistic prescription  Specialised lexicography  International scientific vocabulary